Apparatus employed in flight through the air.



B. AMES.

APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN FLIGHT THROUGH THE AIR.

APPLIOATION FILED APR.27, 1908 Patented Jan.28, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

B. AMES. APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN FLIGHT THROUGH THE AIR.

APPLICATION TILED APR.27, 1908.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

BUTLER AMES, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN FLIGHT THROUGH THE AIR.-

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

\ Application filed April 27, 1908. Serial No. 429,507.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BUTLER Arms, a citizen of the United States, residing at ployed in flight through, or suspension in,

the air.

The principal general objects of my in.- vention may be said to be, to obtain suspension in the air; to attain stability while in flight; to control the direction of its flight; to obtain a comparatively slow descent of said apparatus when falling through the air by reason of only its own weight. I attain these objects by making use of a sustaining surface rotatable about a substan tially horizontal axis, and having its angle of incidence to the oncoming, air, continuously changing from 0 to 180, instead of. being relatively fixed, as is the case with aeroplanes heretofore constructed.

My invention may be embodied in differout forms, and may be used in different environments. For example, it may be used as a kite, the action of the air against it causing it to rotate and ascend; or it may be used in connection with a car orbasket forced through the air by a motor driven air propeller, the rotatable sustaining surface, or surfaces, being caused to rotate by the action of the air, or by said motor power, or by the combined action of the air and said motor power; the direction in which the rotation takes place determining whether the effort of the revolving sustaining surface is toward or away from the earth.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of my invention and the best mode now known to me of embodying that principle, Figure 1 is a perspective view, and shows a pair of rotatable sustaining 'surfaces,-and means for driving them. Fig. 2 shows an enlarged sectional detail of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows in perspective,.and partially in section, the structure of the frame of one of the rotatable sustaining surfaces, the method of mounting, supporting and driving it, and using it in steering, where the environment is that of a motor driven aeroplane; the car, motor, clutch, and air propeller being represented very conventionally, and constituting no part of my invention. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a kite with a single rotatable sustaining surface, its rotation depending upon its relative movement against the air. Fig 5 .is a diagrammatic end View showing my invention embodied in a kite sustaining a load. Fig. 6 is a similar view, which illustrates the principle of my invention, involved in an oblong piece of card board falling through the air. 5

A Y shaped steel standard 1, is provided; Its stem 2, Fig. 3, is mounted in a socket 3, so that it may be turned about its vertical axis, but cannot be withdrawn from the socket, there being a collar 4 fixed near the bottom end portion of the stem, in engagement with a shoulder 5 of the socket, which socket is firmly secured to the frame, say of a motor propelled car 6. To sustain the stem in the socket, when the car is at rest upon the ground a collar 7 is fixed to the stem, and serves as the upper bearing ring of a ball bearing 8, in the sleeve. may be in the form of a pinion used in the operation of steering, later to be described. The arms 9 of the standard 1, arcinclined upward, each forming an oblique angle of about 110 with the axis of the stem, and serve to support a pair of rotatable aeroplanes 10, 10, each having a hollow shaft 10*, 10", made of steel tubing, and of a diameter slightly larger than that of the supporting arms 9.

The outer end of each arm 9, Fig. 2, is provided with a steel ball bearing surface 11,

This collar.

while on the inner portion of each arm, adj a cent to the stem, is shrunk ball bearing ring 12, Fig. 2, facinglhe stem. Previously to ecuring this ring in position, a sleeve 13, also provided with an opposite ball bearing-surface 14, and inclosing said ring 12, is freely mounted on eachgarm. The inner surface of .this sleeve is threaded, and is desi ned to engage the threads on a correspon ing collar 15,rigidly fixed, as by brazing, on the outside inner end portion of each shaft 10, rotatably mounted 6h its respective arm 9. Rigidly fixed on the inside of said end portion of each shaft is a steel ball bearing ring 17 corresponding to the ball bearing surfaces 11 on theend portion of each arm 9 of the Y 7 standard; all of the ball bearing surfaces in a suitable bearing 22, 'fixed upon the;

stem of the 'Y standard, engages the bevel means of the threaded sleevd 13"and collar 15, the ball bearing surfaces for one set of the-hollow shaft 10, and its arm, become longitudinally bound togeth r. Fixed to thebearing p rtion of each shaft, is a cup shaped member 18, 18, which when the shaft is in normal position as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, inclose the inner ball bearing.-' The lip edge. 19, 19, of eachcup has beveled gear teeth 20, whereby the cups become. operatively connected at the up er ed es.

smal bevel drivmg gear 21, mounted gear teeth 20 uponone of the cup members,

. and in a plane passing through the longi-.

as 18, so that by driving this small bevet gear 21, the geared cup 18 with which it meshes, is driven with the hollow shaft 10,

and also drives in the same direction, the

corresponding geared (up 18, andhence its shaft 10".

As it is desirable t aeroplanes 10, 10, an hence the shafts 10, 10", about the longitudinal axes of the stem 2 of'the standard 1, the small bevel gear 21 is operatively connected with a flexible shaft 23 connected, as by bevel gears 23, and friction clutch 23", with the shaft of any suit (able source of motive power, as a gasolene engine 24, located in acar 25.

For the purpose of' strengthening each tubular shaft .10, 10, and also providing suitable means upon which to mount the sustaining planes, a series of hollow aluminum hoops 26,,of the same diameter, are provided, and secured to each shaft by tangential steel wires 27,.Fig. 3, after the manner of bicycle Wheel construction. A series of steel piano wires 28, Figs. 1 and 3, are secured by twisting and soldering to each cup shaped member 18, and then drawn, in parallel, over, and fixed to, the outer circumference of the hoops 26, and then gathered together and likewise secured to the outer free end of the shaft. See Fig. 1.

Between the adjacent hoops on eachshaft,

tudinal axis of the shaft, is laced a sustaining surface 29, made of suitable material, such as shellacked muslin, or silk, or

'wood. If desired, these su's'tainlng surfaces may be separated by circular disks 30, of

similar material secured to the hoops 26,

substantially in the planes of the hoops.

Still further, the adjacent sustaining faces 29, may lie at angles with each other, as at 45, as shown in Fig. 1, or they may be in one plane, as shown at 53. in Fig. 4.

I have now described the construction of a pair of motor driven rotatable sustaining surfaces orflaeroplanes, intended to be used with any suitable car, driven through the air by any suitable means,.as by engines 24 j-and'air propeller 31. The principle of my invention, I have embodied also in a kite.

50, which consists of a suitable oblong frame, as 51, having suitable journals 52 in its major axis, and being provided with a sustaining surface 53 of suitable material, as'shellacked muslin. These journals have bearings 54 which are connected by pieces of piano wire 55, united in turn of 'a connecting bar 56, to the middle of which is attached a cord 57 employed to raise the kite, by giving it a relative movement against the air- From these hearings Mamaybe swung suitable means 58, Fig. 5, for sustaining a load 59.

v 'lo iuake the principle of my invention more easily understood, reference will nowbe made to the prior art and the diagrammatimdrawings.

In aeroplanes, as at resent constructed, the aeroplane has a re atively fixed angle 0 of incidence to the oncoming air, and if for move the sustalnlng any reasonthis angle varies, the center of pressure also varies, and hence the aeroplane is diflicult to balance, is unstable in flight, and therefore requires continuous effort on the part of the operator to maintain the proper angle of incidence, and equilibrium.- Now by means of my invention, there is provided an aeroplane which does away with this effort at balancing, and which is stable in flight. It differs from other kites and aeroplanes, in that it is not held at a relatively fixed angle of incidence to the moving air, but is allowed or made .to revolve. about an axis which, because of the rotation, tends in falling or rising to assume a position practically parallel with the earths surface, and at right angles to the direction of its flight, or of the moving air.

The principle of my invention is illus- "trated by the action of a'pitchedl base ball having an up shoot. .To obtain this result, the ball caused to revolve in a vertical plane, the upper surface of the ball revolving away from the direction of its flight, whilethe under surface revolves toward it. Another illustration may be found by dropping an oblong piece of card board. If such apiece 70, Fig. 6, is allowed to fall from a position 71, it will rotate rapidly. and its major axis will assume and maintain a horizontal position, but instead of moving vertically to the ground, G, it will describea curve, and land at a distance from the vertical projections 72 of the point 71 from which it began its curved flight; said point of landing being at a distance to the right or to, the left of said projected point, and depending upon the direction of rotation of the piece of pasteboard. If it is dropped and it. turns in the direction means shown in full lines in Fi 6, it will descend obliquely to the left to t e point 73; while if it turns in an opposite direction, indicated in dotted lines, it will descend obliquely to the right and land, as at point 74. Its roboard 70 becomes the rotatable kite 50,

shown in Fig. 5, it will be obvious that if the kite is allowed to descend, as when, for example, the kite string 57 is cut, it will repeat the movement of the rotatable piece of card board 70; the direction ofits oblique curved descent likewise depending upon the direction in which the rotatable sustaining plane of the kite rotates. It is obvious that should the kite be held by the cord 57 the wind 75, if of sufficient strength, would act against the rotatable plane and cause the kite to ascend, provided, of course, the plane was started to rotate in the right direction, as indicated by the arrows in full lines; if not so started, it would be forced by the wind to the ground. The same phenomena would happen were the air still, and the kite were rapidly drawn'through the air. 7 1

Plainly, if instead of hauling the rotatable kite through the air, it is mounted upon a car, and is forced through the air as by suitable motive power 24, and driving propellers 31, and is started to revolve, as in the direction of a pitched up shoot ball, there is a constant tendency of the rotatable aeroplane or planes 10, 10, to rise and lift the car 25. Should motive power be supplied to aid the natural rotation, due simply to the movement of the aeroplane through the air, the same but a stronger or 'weaker tendency to rise would develop. And further, should the engine, or propeller stop, the motive power cease to act upon the rotatable sustaining surface or surfaces, or should they become disconnected from the motive power as by the clutch 23', .then the said rotatable surface or surfaces would act in the manner described in connection with the piece of card board, or the kite, and the whole apparatus would descend safely to the ground; the rotating sustaining surface or surfaces serving the purpose of a parachute, as already described. It is also to be noticed, that such a rotating aeroplane always assumes a position at right angles to the direction -.of its flight. This is shown in the case of the falling piece of card board; it remains practically horizontal, or, in case of the kite, at right angles to the direction of its flight, or to the moving air. The actual apparatus, shown in Fig. 1, has demonstrated the truth of this statement.

As has been stated, by rotating the sustaining plane in one direction, it tends to rise and lift, see Fig. 5, but experiment has shown that if the rate of rotationof the sustaining surface is very high, the surface increases the horizontal resistance to the flight. In other vpords, by varying the number of revolutions of the sustaining surface by power, additional lifting force, or horizontal resistance, or diminishing lifting force, can be obtained, independent of the speed of flight through the air.

By making use of the tendency of the revolving sustainin plane to assume a position at right angles to the apparent movement of the air, great ease in steering the motor driven.car through the air, is obtained. If, therefore for instance, the Y standard supporting the two rotating aeroplanes 10, 10, be moved, so that the axes of the shafts 10, 10". are not at right angles to the line of flight, the rotating surfaces will tend to cause the axes of said surfaces to return to a position at right angles to the line of flight, and in so returning, the car will be deflected, and assume the direction desired. This turning of the standard 1 in its socket 3,and the means employe for holding it in any desired position-for any desired time, for the purpose of steering, may consist of any suitable means. For example, the pinion 7 is fixed to the stem 2 of the standard 1, and meshes with a crown spur gear 20, mounted upon the side of the socket 3, and provided with a handle 81. By turning this gear, the plane of the shaftof the rotary aeroplane may be changed from that at right angles to the line of flight of the car, and the aeroplane begins at once to assu e a position at right angles to the line of ight, and in so doing causes the motor propelled car to be deflected into the line of flight desired.

To hold the aeroplane at any desired angle, a spring impelled locking bolt 82 may be pivoted to'engage suitable holes 83 in the circumference of the crown gear; there being an unlocking lever 84 to cause the bolt to disengage the gear and allow the aeroplane to be moved as wished.

Another result I attain by my invention is that with a given rotatable sustaining area, a greater lifting effort can be obtained. than with an aeroplane of the same area and with a fixed angle of incidence. The lifting effort of any aeroplane depends upon the weight of air displaced downward in a given interval of time. Hence in existing aeroplanes havingafixed angle of incidence (which is necessarily very small) the lifting effort is measured by the sine of the angle of incidence into the velocity through the air; while in my revolving aeroplane, the angle of incidence varies from 0. through 90, to 180, therefore, the sine of the angle of incidence @ries from 0 to l and then to 0, consequently, ,for the same area of surface, the amount of air displaced at a given velocity is much greater when my rotating sustaining surface is em loyed, than when an aeroplane with a fixe angle of incidence is used. In short, for a given area, of sustaining surface, I attain a greater lifting effort, than can be obtained with an aeroplane having the same area, but a fixed angle of incidence.

By having the axes of the rotatable aeroplanes inclined to each other, and upward, they serve to increase the lateral stability of the aeroplane, as when they descend, and make possible the utilization of the additional lifting force of the areas of the hoops at right angles to the axes.

Having described the construction, operation and the principle involved, I desire to be understood that I do not limit my invention to the particular construction shown and described. There may be one rotatable sustaining surface, or there may be many: they all may lie in one plane, or different planes; the surface may be plane or curved. Adjacent supporting surfaces may be separated by surfaces at right angles thereto, or there may be no such separating surface. The supporting shafts of a pair of rotatable aeroplanes may be inclined toward each other or they may be parallel, or lie in the same axis. In fine, my broad invention may be described functionally as a rotatable aeroplane, and I desire to protect it in the broadest manner legally possible. i

lVhat I claim is 1. A rotatable aeroplane or kite having its right -line elements within or parallel to its axis of rotation; journals for said aeroplane; bearings for said journals; and means for connecting said bearings together.

2. A rotatable aeroplane comprising a series of planes having their right line ele ments within, or parallel to a common axis of rotation, and each plane of the series bearing a fixed angular relation to 'the other plane or planes; suitable journals for said aeroplane; and means provided with bearings for said journals; all designed to distribute more evenly the effort to rotate said planes.

3. Two rotatable aeroplanes each having within it, a separate axis of rotation: suit able journals for-each aeroplane; said axes forming with eac other an angle less than two right angles to increase the lateral stability of the aeroplanes; suitable bearings for said journals; and a supporting member upon which are mounted said bearings.

4. Two rotatable aeroplanes, each comprising a series of planes; each series having within its planes a common axis of rotation, and eachof its planes bearing a fixed angular relation to the other; suitable journals at each axis of rotation; said axes forming with each other an angle less than two right angles, to increase the lateral stability of the sustaining aeroplanes; suitable bearings for said journals; and a supporting member upon which said bearings are mounted.

A rotatable aeroplane having its right line elements within or parallel to, its axis of rotation; journals for said aeroplane; a supporting member; bearings for said journals, in said supporting member; and means for propelling the supporting mem her and rotatable aeroplane, through the air, said aeroplane being capable of being rotated by reason of its translation through the air.

6. A rotatable aeroplane having within it, its axis of rotation; journals for said aeroplane; bearings for said journals; means for connecting said bearings together; and two or more disks of suitable material, mounted at right angles to the aeroplane surface and said axis of rotation.

7. A rotatable'aeroplane having its right line elements within or parallel to, its axis of rotation; suitable journals for said aeroplane; suitable bearings forsaid journals; a supporting member upon which said bearings are mounted; driving means to cause the rotatable aeroplane to rotate; and means for propelling the supporting member and the rotatable aeroplane through the air.

8. A. rotatable aeroplane having its right line elements within or parallel to, its axis of rotation; suitable journals for said aeroplane; suitable bearings for said journals; a supporting member upon which said bearings are mounted; driving means to cause the rotatable aeroplane to rotate; apparatus whereby said driving means may become connected to and disconnected from said rotatable aeroplane; and means for propelling the supporting member and the rotatable aeroplane through the air.

9. Two rotatable aeroplanes eachhaving within it a separate axis of rotation suitable journals for each aeroplane; suitable bearings for said journals: a supporting member upon which said bearings are mounted; and means for propelling the supporting member and the rotatable aeroplanes through the air, said aeroplanes be ing capable of being rotated by reason of their translation through the air.

10. Two rotatable aeroplanes each having within it a separate axis of rotation; suitable journals for each aeroplane; suitable bearings for said journals; a supporting able; journals for each aeroplane; suitable bearlngs for said journals; a supporting member upon which said bearings are mounted; driving means to cause the rotatable aeroplanes to rotate; apparatus whereby said driving means may become connected to and disconnected from said rotatable aeroplanes; and means for propelling the supporting member and the rotatable aeroplanes through the air.

12. In an aerial machine, a body, a propeller, and a rotatable plane having its within or parallel to its right line elements mounted in horizontally axis of rotation and disposed bearings adapted to be rotated by contact with the wind as the body is propelled, for the purpose specified.

In testimon whereof I aflix my signature 1n presence 0 two witnesses. BUTLER AMES. Witnesses NATHAN W. HALE, WILLIAM W. Coons.

attached to said body, 15 

